Paddy Pimblett picks 'motivated' Max Holloway to beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 318
Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) will make his final walk to the octagon in a trilogy bout against BMF champion Max Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) on July 19 from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). With Poirier retiring in his hometown and already having beaten Holloway twice, Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) sees "Blessed" with more to gain.
"It would be heavy for Holloway if there's two different fighters who have beat him three times," Pimblett said on the "Verse Us Podcast" with Eric Nicksick. "I've seen him say something like, 'He took a lot from me, he gave me my first loss, and he took away my win streak, so I'm going to take his retirement fight.'
"I think Holloway's motivated. I can see Holloway winning, to be honest. Don't know why. I think it's just one of them. Dustin fighting in his hometown, his last fight, everyone expects him to win, the pressure. I think he might (win). You might think it's a bit more favorable because he beat him twice, though."
Pimblett is edging closer to title contention after a dominant finish of Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April. He faced off with newly crowned lightweight champion Ilia Topuria immediately after the conclusion of the UFC 317 main event.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
Michigan football NCAA sign-stealing findings and penalties to be announced Friday
After almost two years of tit for tat, conjecture, media attention, and fanbases fighting about what exactly it all means, the alleged Connor Stalions Michigan advanced sign-stealing investigation is coming to a close. According to a report from Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel of ESPN, the findings and any potential penalties (hint: there will be something) will be announced Friday. Further on that, The Detroit News' Angelique Chengelis reports the punishments will be released by noon, while NBC's Nicole Auerbach, reports that Michigan will receive the notice of penalties before the public earlier that morning. It's hard to fathom that something won't come from this. The NCAA has charged the Michigan program with 11 NCAA violations, six of those being the most severe Level 1 infractions. That is in combination with recruiting violations and prior suspensions for former head coach Jim Harbaugh, so repeat offender and failure to monitor would figure to be a part of whatever penalties are handed down. What is indeed a part of the penalty remains to be seen. The language used by the NCAA has at least been very severe, and some of the reporting of the initial draft of the Notice of Allegations has also pointed toward the NCAA looking to impose some pretty significant things. Michigan took things all the way to a hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions, so all of that points to something somewhat significant being talked about. But where things landed after the hearing remain to be seen. What could be in play is at least a suspension and perhaps a show-cause penalty for Sherrone Moore because of his role on staff and the deletion of 52 text messages between he and Stalions when news of the alleged improprieties broke. Michigan has tried to get out in front of that by self-imposing a two-game suspension for Moore this upcoming season, but it is unclear what that will do to soften the blow from the NCAA. You can likely also expect further show-cause penalties for former head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is already in the midst of a four-year one for the earlier findings of impermissible contact with recruits. You can bet that the news cycle will be hot and heavy tomorrow morning and early afternoon, and we'll also be here to react to it. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
Philadelphia 76ers schedule live coverage: opening night, key games
The Philadelphia 76ers will now move forward into the 2025-26 season following a miserable 24-58 year in 2024-25 due to injuries decimating the roster. Heading into the new season, the Sixers will look to Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George to get Philadelphia back into contention in the Eastern Conference. The full 82-game schedule is set to be released on Thursday afternoon. Sixers Wire will go through opening night as well as the key games on the schedule as they continue to get revealed. This is just another step forward to another exciting season of NBA basketball coming up again in October. With that being said, one key game has already been released per ESPN: Sixers at Knicks on Jan. 24 ESPN states that the Sixers will face the Knicks in New York as part of the network's triple header that day.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Giants RB is retiring at age 30
Running back Matt Breida is planning to retire after seven seasons in the NFL, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. According to ESPN, the Miami Dolphins recently requested a workout with the 30-year-old, but he declined. Breida spent his career with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. Over 98 games in his career, he rushed for 2,652 yards and nine touchdowns. Breida was with New York in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, used as a backup to former Giants running back Saquon Barkley. He appeared in 34 games (five starts) and rushed for 371 yards with two touchdowns. Breida spent time with the 49ers at training camp last year but was released before the 2024 season. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Bridget Hyland may be reached atbhyland@
